Nedra Vo'Shakko
Category:Characters Profile Nedra Vo'Shakko is a female Half-Elf from the Yuirwood on the east shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Born in a small village and adopted into a confederacy of druid circles known as the Baelor Covens, she was raised to value self-reliance and individualism while contributing to a group identity. // if the timing here is unacceptable to the DM, this can be ret-conned to be less specific Born in the village of Escalant in the year 1346 Dale Reckoning, her village was raised in 1357 during the conflict with the Red Wizards of Thay known as the Salamander War. Orphaned, Nedra survived as a young urchin by scavenging and stealing from travelers, farmhouses and other surviving villages until she was taken in by the Baelor druids who had arrived seeking to repair damage done during the war. New to the order, she was educated in their discipline and philosophy but had yet to begin formal training in druidcraft before she was abruptly pulled into Sigil and thrown into the conflict with the Grand Armies of Revolt. Current Strong willed by nature, having witnessed and survived a war already, and now educated by the Baelors and impressed by their philosophy of "The Grand Unity", Nedra had no intent to pursue a path of blind-cooperation or least-resistance; Rather, Nedra quickly sought independence and insight into the conflict's root in the hopes she and her friends could act as free-agents to end and minimize the impact of the conflict. Background Baelor Druids The Baelors are an very old, rare and unique order of Druids. One might describe Regional druids as watchers and protectors while Baelor druids may be described as builders. Most druids are identified by their affiliation the region they inhabit and the other druids they share that habitat with. Regional druids are motivated by obtaining a type of synergy with and maintaining the 'way of things' within their environment. They are often seen as resistant to environmental interference, and adversarial towards anyone or anything that might upset the 'way of things' as they stand. Baelor druids are more identified by their cause than an their environs. The ultimate goal of the Baelors is to build a lasting synergistic harmony between the World and its Children, this harmony is referred to as 'The Grand Unity'. While regional druid thought is that the Children must yield and give way to the 'way of things' as dictated by the unobstructed course of nature, Baelors believe the Children are a part of the 'way of things' as much as anything else in the World, and as such the Children should be taught to live as symbiotically as possible with the World. Despite their generally open-minded nature, Baelors are distrustful of arcane mages who they see as prone to warping the World with short-sighted abandon, often resulting in the World necessitating dramatic re-assertion of its 'way of things'. Baelors travel from region to region seeking to repair damage and help those who will listen live better in their environment. They believe every place has a 'nearest harmony' that can be achieved as the next step on a path of progress called 'the successive harmony' ultimately leading towards 'The Grand Unity'; What that 'nearest harmony' for a region may be at a given point is usually quite flexible but it should be agreed upon by the Druid circles present in the area of concern. In a war-torn area the 'nearest harmony' may be as simple in concept but difficult in execution as establishing peace; stable regions are generally left to proceeding according to the 'way of things' with the exception of impending stagnation, where-in the 'nearest harmony' may be found in finding someway to introduce conflict or progress the the environment. At times, the Baelors find them selves with the conclusion that the 'nearest harmony' can only be obtained by a significant culling of local populations; Rarely, that 'nearest harmony' may require the elimination of a 'pest' or 'immalleable opposition'. The use of force is less preferred by the Baelors, but in no-way closed to the Baelors. Relationships between Baelor druids and regional druids are often strained, but respectful in that Regionals value the Baelor's efforts to repair damage to the World but see them as overly meddlesome with both their local druid circles, the World's 'way of things', and too friendly towards encroaching civilizations. Experienced frontiersmen and rangers who have heard of the Baelor druids are frequently interested in making friends and allies with the Baelors, but are often unsure as to how to identify a Baelor from their more obstinate regional druid cousins. After a Baelor group feels a region is repaired or guided onto the path of 'successive harmony', the main body of Baelors will migrate onward but leave a local cell of well-adapted Baelors behind to continue to guide and maintain the area. Tradition holds that this seeding of Baelor druids throughout the world is how Regional druids were created.